Dancing with Demons: Emotions in the Origins of the Witches’ Sabbath (1428-1442) (Progress Review 2) Jenny Barnett

In the early fifteenth century societal belief about harmful magic and witchcraft shifted from the perception of the witch as a sole agent of harm to an organized conspiracy of witches who engage in the so-called ‘sabbath.’ This shift in attitude is the foundation for the ‘witch craze’ that occurred in 16th and 17th centuries Europe when thousands were tortured and executed on accusations of witchcraft. Why did this shift to the organized cult occur? In the documents that form the origins of the witches’ sabbath, why did the authors depict a community of witches engaging in abhorrent actions? What ideas influence the change in perception of witches?